Authors Note: Ok. So this is my first real multi-chapter story. I've had the idea in my head for weeks now but I've been struggling to put it into words. I recently read Almost Isn't Good Enough by Watevs15 (I highly recommend it) and I saw that he/she had a VERY similar idea for a story as I did. So if anyone has read that story and notices that these two are similar, please know that I am not stealing ideas, I had these ideas before I read the other one. On another note, I have no idea where I'm going with this one, I just have some basic plans, so I'm very open to suggestions in reviews or PM's, especially when it comes to who the antagonist will be, cause I have no idea. I'm putting a lot of work into this one, I've even been reading up about schizophrenia for more knowledge on the subject (not pleasant). I know prologue chapters are usually just little teasers of what the story's going to be like, but this one is really long and it's really just a collection of flashbacks of things that happened before and during the shows, but the rest of the story is post-war, although it will most likely contain some flashbacks too. Future chapters will not be as long as this one. I know that the name Trust is for Fools is not the most creative name, but I don't gave a s***, it will stay like that until I think of something better. Just one more note. I know the Avatar wiki says that Azula and Ty Lee are supposed to be 14 but I just can't accept that. So in this story I say they were 15 when the show took place. I know it's only one year but it makes a big difference in my mind for some reason, so just roll with it. (I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender or any of it's characters)

Summary: Before the end of the war Ty Lee and Azula developed a romantic relationship but sadly it did not last long because of what happened at the Boiling Rock. Ty Lee goes to live on Kyoshi Island with the other warriors. For two years she tries to forget. To get on with her life. But eventually she's drawn back. Rated M just in case.

Prologue

A six years old Azula looked down at the silly girl laying in front of her. She was wearing pink from top to toe and her hair was tied into a long braid that fell down her back. This was not what the young princess had expected to see on her first day in the Royal Fire Nation Academy for girls.

"Are you alright?" She asked the other girl, who had sat up and started rubbing the back of her head.

"Yeah. I'm ok. I've had worse falls." The girl looked up at Azula, giving her a wide, goofy grin. Her big gray eyes shining like diamonds as the sunlight hit them.

"What was that you were doing anyway? It just looked like you threw yourself at the ground." It had been quite a funny scene actually, but Azula decided not to say that out loud.

"Oh. Umm..." The pink clad girls blushed. "Well, I was just practicing my cartwheeling. I'm usually much better than this." She said as she got up. "Im Ty Lee by the way. What's your name?" She extended her hand.

"I'm Azula." The princess shook Ty Lee's hand, a small smirk on her lips.

"Wow. You have the same name as the princess!" The would-be-acrobat jumped in excitement.

She sure is thick. Though she's sort of funny. Azula thought to herself as her smile grew wider. "Well that's because I am the princess. Daughter of prince Ozai and princess Ursa." She stated proudly.

Ty Lee's jaw dropped. She wasn't sure she'd ever even seen royalty before, let alone talked with it. She had no idea how to act or what to say. She did the only thing she could think of. She got down on her knees and bowed down low, touching her forehead to the soft grass that made up most of the courtyards ground.

Azula was surprised. "Uhh. What are you doing?" She asked as she looked down at the girl kneeling in front of her. She had seen some people do this when they saw her grandfather, the Fire Lord, but no one ever bowed to her. Although they would someday, according to her father.

"I...I'm just...well. I'm sorry. I didn't know who you were Azu-I mean your highness." Ty Lee managed to talk without too much fault. She was blushing furiously so her face almost matched her outfit.

She felt someone lightly tap on her shoulder. "Get up. You don't have to do that." Azula said as she pulled her new friend up to her feet. She giggled when she saw how obviously embarrassed Ty Lee was.

"Hey. Do you think you could teach me to do that thing. What did you call it? Cartwheeling?" Ty Lee's face instantly lit up at the request.

"Sure thing. Ok. So you just have to..."

Ty Lee watched as her friend gracefully went through her bending exercises. It was beautiful. Orange flames with a hint of blue in the center, the amount of which had been growing in the three years she had known the princess.

Squinting her eyes to look at Azula's aura, the acrobat saw a swirling mix of colors like blue, purple, orange and gold. But out of all the rich colors, one little detail caught her eye. It were the little streaks of black that had been there since she first met her. Over the years they had slowly multiplied from a single speck of that awful color, into several streaks spread across her aura, like streaks of oil in otherwise clear water.

She had a pretty good idea of what they were, since every time Azula's mother scolded her for doing something bad, or her father told her what she did wasn't good enough, the streaks would momentarily grow bigger. So it must just mean that she's sad. But nobody else has them, and I'm pretty sure other people get sad too.

"Ty, are you coming?" Azula's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Huh? Wha...Coming where?"

"By Agni, can't you remember anything?" The princess looked down at her sitting friend, a slightly annoyed smirk on her lips. "We were going to practice our cartwheeling, remember?"

"Ohhh right. Forgot about that. Ok, let's do it." She got up and started running towards the tree their other friend was sitting under. "Come on 'Zula!"

"How many times do I have to say this Ty? Its A-zula! With an A!" The firebender called back even though Ty Lee knew she enjoyed her nickname. They stopped running when they reached the tree where Mai was sitting. It was the best place in the courtyard to practice in the summer, since it was shaded by the tree.

Mai had become a part of their little group shortly after they started in the academy. She was one year older than both the other girls so she had already been there for a year. She was really smart. Almost as smart as Azula, the acrobat thought. They could talk for hours about things that she lost track of in only a few minutes. But even though they were intellectually compatible, Ty Lee didn't think Mai and Azula liked each other very much. Actually, the princess didn't seem to like anyone, apart from the little acrobat of course.

She started talking to the princess about a new trick she'd just learned where you would end the cartwheel with a back-flip. When Azula felt she had heard enough explanations she decided to try it. It went well until the it came to the jump itself. She tripped and fell flat on her back.

"Almost right 'Zula." Ty Lee said in the most cheerful voice she could muster because, for some reason, failing at this had caused one of the black streaks in Azula's aura to grow in size. Why does this make her so sad? Nobody's perfect.

"Ok. This is how it's supposed to go." She steadied her self before executing the cartwheel, followed by the flip, perfectly. Suddenly she felt strong hands on her back, pushing her.

"Ugh. Azulaaa!" She groaned up at the now laughing princess. After Azula helped her up, the acrobat noticed that her friends eyes were suddenly fixed on Zuko, who was walking by with their mother. Her eyes then move to look at Mai who was averting her gaze and blushing slightly.

"Hey Ty." The princess moved up to Ty Lee and started whispering in her ear.

The pink girl giggled. This is going to be good.

"Hey 'Zula." The acrobat said happily as she ran up to her friend and hugged her.

The sun was setting over the capital of the Fire Nation. Normally Ty Lee wasn't allowed to play with Azula this late, but over a week ago they had planed a sleepover, so here she was. She was really excited. Sleepovers with Azula were the best. They'd stay up late playing board games, talking and sometimes they even snuck out and climbed to the roof of the palace. The view was of the city at night was amazing.

But tonight she wasn't just excited, she was a bit nervous. She didn't really know why, but she suspected it had something to do with the fact that Azula's mother, princess Ursa, had been banished only three days ago. Even though Azula acted like she didn't care, even going so far as using it to tease her brother, Ty Lee knew she had been really down since it happened. I'll just be extra cheerful tonight then.

As usual, they stayed up talking and playing a few games of Pai Sho, even though they knew Azula would always win. However, the princess refused her friend's request to go to the roof tonight, saying that it was to cold outside. That wasn't true, but Ty Lee decided to just go with it.

They both fell asleep around midnight in the princess' huge bed, covered in crimson and black fabrics, ornate golden dragons sowed into the sheets and a large canopy of wooden bars and red velvet hanging over them.

About an hour after she fell asleep, Ty Lee woke up to a strange sound. Her mind was muddies at first, but as it started to clear she could tell the sound was coming from inside the bedroom. She looked to her left to find the shaking form of her friend, face buried in her pillow.

She was crying.

"Azula? A-are you alright?" She asked hesitantly, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"She...she left. She left and she...didn't even say goodbye." Her speech was frequently interrupted by sobs. Now that she thought about it, Ty Lee realized that she had never seen Azula cry. She'd always seemed so strong, so confident.

"I know 'Zula. I know." She pulled the crying princess into her arm. They stayed like this for a while, Azula crying on Ty Lee's shoulders and the acrobat gently stroking her back.

"It's...all my fault...I'm a...monster." She was sobbing so hard at this point, Ty Lee was surprised she was able to form sentences at all. What surprised her even more though, was what the princess had just said.

"What are you talking about? How's it your fault?" In reality she knew very little of what had happened with Azula'a mother, no one did. But she suspected it had something to do with the death of the former Fire Lord, Azulon, and how Ozai was now on the throne.

"And you're not a monster. Why would you say that?" To the little acrobat, hearing her friend say she was a monster was just silly. She'd heard stories about all sorts of monsters. They were always these big, scary things with long claws and fangs and such. Looking down at the girl in her arms she didn't see anything like that.

"Because she said so..." Azula's sobs had faded, but she was still shaking and whimpering.

"Who?"

"Mother...she said I was a monster. And she...she left." She broke down sobbing again. Ty Lee cradled her in her arms and started rocking her back and forth like a baby.

"It's ok 'Zula. It's ok. I'm here. Ty's here. I'm not going to leave, I promise." She kept murmuring comforting words into her friends ear until she was sure the she'd fallen asleep.

"Goodnight 'Zula." She said as she wiped the tears from Azula's face and shortly after, she had fallen asleep as well.

Ok. I have to be quick. Everything packed. Great. The 13 year old girl dressed in pink strapped on the backpack she had been struggling to pack for about an hour, not knowing what she wanted to take with her. She climbed out the window, stopping to take one last look at her bedroom. Ok. Maybe I'll miss it just a little bit.

She pulled her cloak closer to her body as she climbed out of the crater in in which the Royal Palace and homes of the richest noble families stood. It was the middle of the summer but the nights still got pretty cold. The cold wasn't the only problem though. She had decided not to bring a torch or oil lamp along to not draw attention to herself, but as a result she couldn't see a thing and tripped over almost every rock she passed. Way to think ahead Ty.

As she stepped up onto the edge of the crater she could see distant lights surrounding the brightly colored circus tents. Ok, there it is. No turning back now...

"Where do you think you're going?" Ty Lee's thoughts were cut short by the icy tone of the voice coming from behind her. She turned around slowly. Pleasepleasepleaseplease...

...pleasepleasepleaseDAMN! She almost swore out loud when her eyes met those bright golden orbs that, despite their glow, managed to look even colder than the wind blowing in her face.

"Ohh. Ehh. Hey 'Zula. What are you doing here? I was just...well...I'm just out for...a walk." It was almost laughable how stupid that sounded, even to her, and she always believe everything. Judging by the look the princess was giving her, she agreed.

Azula was glaring at her, her golden eyes felt like they were piercing her soul. "You've been acting weird for the past few days. I was going to come ask you what was up. Guess I don't have to now."

They just stood there quietly for what felt like hours, at least to Ty Lee, until Azula finally broke the silence. "You're really going then?" She gestured in the direction of the circus tents.

"I...I have to. I just can't stay here anymore. I can't!" Ty Lee said as she struggled to swallow the lump rising in her throat. She had really been hoping to avoid this confrontation.

"You were just going to leave? No goodbye? Nothing!" The princess' brow furrowed as she shouted the last word. Ok. She's mad.

"I couldn't come to see you. I knew you'd try to stop me and...and I have to go." Clutching the straps of her backpack, she stomped her foot down to emphasize that she was completely serious. I'm not letting anyone stop me. Not even her.

Azula's lips twitched into a snarl. "NO! You can't go! I order you to stay!" She raised her fists and quickly brought them down, sending blasts of blue fire on the ground, lighting the grass on fire.

What? She can't do that. I can't stay here and be miserable just because of her. The lump in her throat disappeared. Now she was mad, and that was saying something.

"I'm sorry Azula. But I'm not staying here just because you tell me to. I'm not your servant. Goodbye." She spoke more harshly than she had ever done to the princess before, or anyone else for that matter. She turned in the direction of the distant lights and managed to take a grand total of one step before Azula's voice brought her to a halt once again.

"But...you promised." The voice wasn't cold or commanding as Ty Lee had expected, or rather, hoped. It would be much easier to leave if she was angry with her friend. But instead, the voice behind her sounded small and broken. The acrobat turned around once more to see what she hadn't seen in four years. Azula was crying. It wasn't like that time when they were nine. She wasn't convulsing with sobs, she didn't even let out a whimper, but the tears flowing freely down her face were evidence of her pain. "You said you wouldn't leave."

Ty Lee was speechless. Azula had never even mentioned what happened that night when they were nine, and in all honesty, the acrobat never thought she would. But here she was, bringing it up at the worst possible moment. She slowly approached the crying girl and carefully put her arm around her. "I'm sorry Azula. I really am. But we talked about this. You know how miserable I am here. It's really not good for my aura." Azula gave her a half-hearted chuckled and muttered. "Stupid aura."

Giggling, the acrobat leaned back and started wiping the tears of Azula's face the same way she did all those years ago. Azula had always been one of the only people she knew that actually believed her about her ability to see auras.

"The circus is leaving soon and I don't know when it'll be back. This could be my last chance to get away for a long time. I don't want to leave you, but I can't stay with my family. Do you get what I'm saying 'Zula?"

Looking shamefully down on the ground she had just scorched a few seconds ago, the princess admitted defeat. "Y-yeah. It's just...Mai's gone with her family to the Earth Kingdom and now you're...ugh. I'm sorry."

Putting her hand under Azula's chin and lifting her face up, Ty Lee kissed her friend on the cheek. "Thank you for understanding. And it's not like this is going to be the last time we see each other. I mean, you could come and visit the circus someday, or maybe we'll come back to the city soon. Who knows!" She said with a big, toothy grin, trying to be as reassuring as possible.

"I guess." The princess sighed and pulled away from her overly cheerful friend, wiping away the last remnants of her tears. "You should go then."

Before Azula could say anything else, her air supply was cut of by Ty Lee giving her a huge bear hug. When she finally decided to release her suffocating friend, the acrobat gave her another quick kiss on the cheek, a big goofy smile, and then she ran of down the side of the volcano, braid dangling behind her. "Bye 'Zula!"

Yeah. Goodbye...

"Ty Lee. Could that possibly be you?" Looking up from her upside down position, the acrobat saw a person who looked sort of like...

No...freaking...way.

"Azula!" She gracefully rolled out of the handstand she had been practicing and ran over to hug her friend. "It's good to see you again!" This was truly a surprise. She hadn't seen the princess in almost two years. She hasn't changed a bit.

That wasn't true, of course. The firebender, who had been about the same height as Ty Lee, now stood a few inches taller, and, although it was impossible to see through her clothes, her muscles were stronger and more defined after months of training. Her body had of course gone through other changes that followed that age. Her breast and hips were more prominent, though not as much as the acrobat's, but enough to give her a distinct feminine look. As an addition her face had lost much of it's baby fat.

"Please don't let me interrupt your...whatever you're doing." Rolling back into one of her stretching exercises that would make most people stare in awe, she looked up at her long-lost friend and waited for her speak again.

"I have a proposition for you." The princess said, looking at Ty Lee like they had seen each other only the day before. She looks so uptight. The acrobat thought to herself. I guess I've missed a lot in the past couple of years.

"I'm hunting a traitor. You remember my old fuddy-duddy uncle, don't you?" She did remember him. She genuinely like General Iroh, even though she hadn't met him very often since he always preferred to spend time with Zuko over his niece.

"Oh yeah! He was so funny." This was not how Ty Lee had hoped their first meeting after all these years would go. To be honest, she felt a bit awkward. Normally she would be talking none-stop about every single thing she had done in the last two years, but she didn't really know how to do it since Azula was acting so...different, like they were just casual acquaintances.

"I would be honored if you would join me on my mission." The princess said, raising her chin, looking very confident.

"Oh, I, uh, would love to." Ty Lee responded, not really sure how to answer this. She nimbly got back on her feet. "But the truth is, I'm really happy here. I mean, my aura has never been pinker!" I'm sorry again, Azula.

"I'll take your word for it." The princess said, looking at her friend with no sign of anger or sadness like the pink clad girl had expected. She...she's not mad?

"Well, I wouldn't want you to give up the life you love just to please me." There was something off with the tone of Azula's voice as she said that, but Ty Lee dismissed it as just her imagination. "Thank you, Azula." And with that, the acrobat returned to her stretching, lifting her foot above her head and touching her toes in her fingers. She was quite content, thinking this had played out very well, completely oblivious to Azula's plans...

The sun had long since set over Ember Island so now the moon and stars reflecting off the water were the only sources of natural light, and would soon be the only ones at all since the little campfire they built on the beach was almost dead.

Mai and Zuko had left a few minutes ago, heading back to the beach house to rest, but Azula said she wanted to stay a little longer, and Ty Lee was quick to agree. She knew something was bothering the princess and she was going to wait until she was ready to talk about it.

It had taken a few weeks to get Azula out of the shell she was in, to break past the wall she had put between herself and everyone else, but Ty Lee managed it, and now they were closer than ever. Two years of being without friends had made the princess a bit colder and more distant than she used to be, courtesy of Ozai, but she let Ty Lee in again, and they were both happy for it.

They sat there for a while, Azula stared into the dying fire, and Ty Lee waited. Earlier the princess had reveled to their little group that the fact her mother thought she was a monster hurt her, she was quick to dismiss it as a small thing and in regards to Zuko and Mai, that was enough, but neither of them had been there all those years ago when Azula cried herself to sleep in the acrobat's arms, so neither of them truly understood how deeply wounded the princess was by this.

After about an hour of just sitting there, Azula finally spoke. "I really am a monster, aren't I?"

Ty Lee had been afraid of this. The black streaks in Azula's aura had been flaring since they left that party. "No 'Zula. You're not. You're beautiful."

The princess gave her a look of faint disgust. "Ohh really." The disbelief was thick in her voice.

"Yeah really." The acrobat got up and sat down right next to Azula, resting her hands on the princess' lap. "You're smart and strong and more beautiful than anyone I have ever seen. How could you possibly be a monster?" Even though she knew Azula was really sad, she had to admit that she loved these close, intimate moments she got to share with the princess.

There were many reasons she liked it, the greatest one probably being her feelings towards her friend. It had stared when they were little. Now that Ty Lee thought back to it, it didn't seem like much other than a stupid crush. But when she started travelling the Earth Kingdom with her, those feeling reappeared, and they had been growing stronger with every day that passed.

Of course she knew that her feelings were strictly forbidden. People who were attracted to those of the same sex were often met with prejudice, and even violence, and that was if you were of a lower class. It wasn't unheard of that families would disown their members for their inclinations, that was, if they were lucky. But even if all of that was put aside, being in love with the crown princess was just ridiculous.

Ty Lee didn't care though, she had come to accept her feelings, and now she could only hope that one day Azula would feel the same way.

"Ohh come on Ty! Don't play dumb with me. I know how I come off." Scowling, Azula crossed her hands over her chest and looked back into what was left of the little fire. "Like that boy at the party...ugh. One moment we're kissing and the next he's running of like a frightened owl-kitten."

Ty Lee was glad that Azula couldn't see auras, because her's had just turned a nasty shade of green. What was she doing kissing that boy anyways. Sure, she herself flirted with them from time to time, but that was just for fun. She never took it further than that.

Oblivious to her friend's thoughts, Azula kept talking. "Everybody always runs off, and those who don't only stay because they're to afraid to leave, or they want something from me." The black parts of her aura were now bigger than Ty Lee had ever seen them, she had to do something.

She leaned closer to the prodigy. "I'm not afraid of you. And I don't want anything from you either." She smiled.

"That's...different. You..." To her dismay, Azula felt that she was having a hard time speaking because of the lump in her throat. She hadn't cried in years, and that was not about to change.

The acrobat leaned in closer. "Why? Why is it different?" Their faces were so close now, she could feel the princess' breath on her face, their noses were almost touching.

"B-because..." Before Azula could say anything else her mouth was sealed by a pair of soft lips pressing against her own. Ty Lee couldn't believe she had actually found the courage to do that. Well, no point in stopping now.

The princess was completely frozen. When Ty Lee kissed her, her eyes had shot wide open and seemingly every single muscle in her body tensed up. After staying like that for a few seconds, she realized that it wasn't an unpleasant feeling at all so she began to move her lips in response to her friend's.

What? She's kissing me back? The acrobat could honestly say that she had not expected this. She thought Azula would pull back immediately and shout at her, call her a freak or something. But she was actually kissing back. Ty Lee couldn't believe her good fortune.

When they finally broke off the kiss for air neither of them said anything. For a while they just sat there, panting, and looking at each other, their faces unreadable. Finally, Ty Lee broke a smile. The princess shyly smiled back. Aww, she's so cute when she's nervous, although I probably shouldn't tell her that.

"Ty? What was that for?"

"Did you like it?" The acrobat replied, an impish grin playing on her lips.

"Ohh, I don't know." Azula's tone was laced with sarcasm. "I didn't really get enough time to appreciate it."

Her grin growing bigger, Ty Lee leaned closer to her friend. "Well, I'll let you have another go then." And just like that, their lips were locked again.

Best night ever...

It was some weeks since that fateful night on Ember Island, and Azula and Ty Lee had been having similar incidents as often as they could since then, discreetly of course. They both knew the risk, knew what would happen if they were to be caught, but when they were together all that just sort of faded away. Even though they were doing a pretty good job sneaking around, the acrobat had a feeling that Mai might suspect something. It wasn't unlikely she did, her and Azula always seemed to know everything. But the point was, everything had been going great and Ty Lee had never been this happy. But in this exact moment, everything was falling apart.

"No you miscalculated! You should have feared me more!" For as long as Ty Lee had known Azula she'd never seen the princess this angry, nor had she expected to. Of course she knew that her friend had some problems, but completely snapping like this was so unlike her.

Azula dropped into a bending stance. Oh no oh no. What is she...By Agni, she's going to...

Mai also dropped into a combat stance, drawing one of her knives. Ohh. Ahh. What do I do? What do I do? Azula's going to kill her. I...I have to do something!

Azula had almost completed her kata and Ty Lee knew that she didn't have any more time to think. So she acted. I'm so, so sorry 'Zula...

"I don't care, Mai! I want to see her." For almost an hour now, Mai had been trying to talk Ty Lee out of going to the mental hospital, but the new Kyoshi warrior would not budge.

She had met the Kyoshi warriors in the prison she'd been thrown into. At first they didn't trust her at all, not that strange considering she was one of the people that got them captured in the first place, but after a while they started warming up to her and eventually she'd been invited to become one of them. She was delighted by this, and of course accepted. But before she could go anywhere, she had to go see the princess. Well...I guess it's ex-princess now.

After Zuko was crowned Fire Lord, one of the first things he'd done was to strip his sister of all titles and have her sent to Kuang Mental Hospital, which was on an island not too far from the capital city, took about an hour to get there by the ferry.

"Look Ty. I know you care about her, so did I. But the Azula you know isn't alive anymore. She's gone." Mai said in her usual monotone voice. Neither of them had actually seen the princess since the Boiling Rock, but they had both heard detailed descriptions from Zuko and Katara. Losing the fight against her brother and the waterbender had triggered the breakdown that had, apparently, been building up inside her for the past few weeks. She had been reduced to a screaming and crying wreck, not responding to anyone with anything other than violence.

"I know you may not care about her anymore, but I do. She's still my friend and I'm going to see her, that's final!" Ty Lee's voice wasn't angry, just a little irritated, but considering how bubbly and happy she always was it was enough to convince Mai she was serious.

They took the ferry only a half hour later. Although Mai had firmly stated she had no interest in seeing her former friend, she didn't want Ty Lee to go alone.

After sitting there in silence for about fifty minutes, their destination finally came into view. Kuang Mental Hospital was a large, imposing structure, positioned on a rather small, lifeless island. It was a tower of smooth white marble, constructed by earthbenders long before the war even started. The afternoon sun cast the shadow of the building on the small pier the ferry landed on, giving the impression that the day had grown shorter.

They spent the short walk up to the tower as they spent the boat ride, in silence. But when they reached the front door, Mai put her hands on the acrobat's shoulders. "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"

Ty Lee nodded firmly, wanting to hide that her voice would must likely crack when she spoke, because for some reason, the closer she got the place Azula was being kept, the more she felt like bursting into tears.

The tower was built in two layers. The outer, thinner one was a singular hallway that spiraled all the way to the top of the building. There were only doors on the left wall because all the rooms in the hospital were in the inner layer. This unique design was enough to momentarily distract Ty Lee from the meeting she had been dreading for days now.

Walking through the hall, she was surprised to see how many people worked here, the number of white dressed doctors and equally many guards was much greater than she had expected. She knew she shouldn't be that surprised. After all, this institution was one of many that Zuko decided needed more funding and staff after the war, considering the number of people left scarred by a hundred years of constant fighting.

After walking for quite some time, most likely nearing the top of the structure, they stopped in front of an iron door that, unlike the others, had imperial firebenders stationed on each side. Ugh. Those skull-masks always creep me out.

Mai wordlessly nodded at them and they immediately opened the door, already knowing the face of the would-be Fire Lady. The door led to a much smaller, straight hallway. It didn't go far in, only about ten feet or so, but at it's end there was another door, made of thick steel and bolted to the wall. Ty Lee started quivering, becoming more unsure about this decision with every step she took.

"My Lady." One of the imperial firebenders stopped in front of Mai as they reached the door. "We will have to go in first and restrain the prisoner. Standard safety measures." His voice echoed within his helmet. Mai gave another silent nod and the guards got ready to enter the cell.

Ty Lee just barely managed to keep her knees from giving when the guards entered the cell. She couldn't see the ex-princess, in fact she couldn't see anything of the cell. It's so dark in there...

A few seconds after the guards entered the cell though, it's darkness was replaced with a brilliant blue light. It would have been beautiful if it wasn't accompanied by bone-chilling screams. It didn't even sound human. More like some enraged beast. One of the guards shouted commands at the others. Something about getting a muzzle on her. But Ty Lee didn't hear any of it over the anguished screams and cries coming from her oldest and dearest friend. Ohh no. What's happened to you 'Zula. What have they...what have I done.

"Ty?" Her head snapped up at the mention of her name. Mai was giving her a questioning look. The Kyoshi warrior looked around, discovering she had taken a few steps away from the scene. What was that sound. There! There it is again. It took her a moment to realize that the sounds she was hearing were her own choked sobs. Time seemed to slow down. It was all too much. Azula's screams, the guards shouting, Mai's pitying look and piled on top of that were childhood memories that had suddenly started to fill her mind. She couldn't take it anymore.

She ran.

Rushing down the spiral hall, she knocked down about three people that weren't quick enough to get out of her way. It wasn't on purpose, but the wetness in her eyes blurred her vision, and she just needed to get out of there.

She didn't stop running until she was outside the hospital, at which point she fell down to her knees, buried her face in her hands and started sobbing so hard she thought she might fall apart, literally. She must have stayed there for quite some time because after a while she felt a thin hand on her shoulder.

Mai sat down next to her, sneering when she realized she had just sat down on a dirt road in the new gown Zuko had bought for her. Ty Lee knew her friend wasn't really good with the whole comforting thing, but at least she was trying.

"Ty Lee. I know you really care about Azula and I know you want to help her, but you can't." The would-be Fire Lady put her arm around her friends shoulder. "Azula's gone and what you saw up there, that's all that's left. Ty, are you listening?" Ty Lee nodded, fearing that talking might only come out as unintelligible weeping. "You need to go with Suki and the others to Kyoshi Island and move on with your life. Understand?"

"Y-yeah." That was all she was able to say.

The next day she said goodbye to Mai, Zuko and Aang, who had warmed up to her instantly after he hear she changed sides. After saying her goodbyes she got on a ship with the rest of the painted warriors and set off to what was to be her new home. She put up a good front, acting like the bubbly happy girl she usually was, but when she was finally alone in her quarters the floodgates opened and she couldn't stop crying. This went on for the remainder of the two week trip from her homeland to Kyoshi Island. To her new life.

I'm sorry Azula...

Wow. That took AGES to write. Seriously...changing so rapidly from one scenario to another turned out to be much harder than I expected. As a result I think that some parts of this chapter are a bit rushed and not really good enough, but that might just be me. I don't know how regularly I will be posting new chapters for this story, so don't hold your breath if it goes a while without an update. Also, I'm wondering if everybody got that whole "nobody's perfect" thing I put in there? And I apologize for having such a small part of this seen from Azula's POV, but I need to practice writing Ty Lee. I hope you enjoyed this little prologue and I can assure you, there's a lot more to come.

Peace out.